Union Minister M Venkaiah Naidu today charged Congress party of “adopting double standards and shedding crocodile tears” on Andhra Pradesh special status issue and sought to know why the UPA government “delay the process till 2014” after it promised to create the separate state 10 years back.
“Congress party and its leaders were now raising a hue and cry inside and outside Parliament for the sake of publicity on the issue. Why the UPA government failed to grant special category status to successor state of Andhra Pradesh when it bifurcated the united state by incorporating the same in AP Reorganisation Bill?” he asked.
Naidu said former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh should give a “straight answer” on this before raising questions on BJP.
Singh had yesterday asked the Rajya Sabha to fulfill the commitments made by him in this regard over two years back as the House took up a private member bill on the issue.
Naidu claimed that Congress party had promised to create a separate state way back in 2004 and sought to know “why did the UPA government delay the process until 2014”.
He also alleged that Congress party was “solely responsible” for the death of over 1,000 youth who committed suicide for the cause of Telangana, the state which was carved out of Andhra Pradesh.